but i think right now, president obama has the upper hand. i mean he's just won re-election. he's basically telling people, look, the american people elected me, because they want a stronger middle class. they want me to push what i have been pushing, which is for a stronger middle class. so i think he has the upper hand. and republicans kind of know this right now. >> ed, you know, last year's grand bargain between boehner and the president, that fell through. reportedly because of the tea party types in the gop. so why should we believe that has changed when the tea party wagged the gop majority dog, so to speak? >> you know, i spent a lot of time in the last few weeks talking to members of congress, and the people that were running against them, and in the discussions with the republicans, i think they made it very clear that they understand that a deal has to be made before the end of the year. and i think even since election day talking to people up there, that they understand that the economy's at stake. that their own political futures are at stake. because while the p